Flat knitting machine



Oct. 11, 1938. A.RINEHART FLAT KNITTING MACHINE FiledDec. 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 11, 1938. A. RlNEHARf I ,4

' FLAT KNITTING MACHINE File ec. 14, 1956 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR fir ATTQ EYS v30 result in damage to the machine.

Patented a. 11, 1938 FLAT KNITTING l'uaonmfn Arthur Rinehart, Hawthorne, N. .1., assignor to r Robert Reiner, Incorporated, a corporation of g -NewJersey Application December 14, 1936, swarm 115,683 1 Claim. (01. 66-145) therewith, and more particularly to'means for ing by an activecarrieri. v

In machines of this description, it is necessary "securingthe loose end of. a. feeding yarn for lay- IO to'secure any severed ends of yarns leading from inactive carriers before these carriers are again thrown into operation, soth'at'the yarn may be fed by'the carrierin the correct position to be engaged by the throats of the sinkerswhen advanced tosink the yarn about the shanks of the needles. In ordinary practice this is accomplished by laying the yarn about the first active needle and then fastening theloose endthereof to a-post on the work table. [This yarn must be tautly held to insure the proper positioning of the yarn for engagement with the first active sinker and also to insure the formation of ,a tightloop on the first active needle or needles. After the yarn carrier has completed its feeding mo'vement and before 26 the needles are movedrearwardly. to thef pr ess position, it is necessary to cut each'f of the yarn ends to avoid placing an excessive strain'upon the end needle or needles. which will interfere with the operation of these elements and islikely to The invention is herein disclosed as'embodied in a heelingmachine such as thatfillustrated in the application of Lambach, Serial No. 104,244, filed October 6, 1936, which is providedwith two separated banks of needles adapted tojreceive the last course of leg fabric loops of a combination foot and leg stocking blank for the knitting of the heel flaps thereto. In this machine, as more fully set forth in the application above re- 40 ferred to, the carriers are moved outwardly in opposite directions to lay the yarn for the knitting of the first course, and the machine is then stopped with the needles in their fully retracted position to permit the folding forwardly of the foot portion of the fabric over the needles prior to the knitting of subsequent heel flap courses.

It will be understood, however, that the inven-,

tion in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific type of machine illustrated, but is well adapted for use on that knitting machines generally of the type having spring beard needles movable as a unit with relation to a press edge and yarn measuring sinkers cooperating therewith.

It is a principal object of the present invention :t o provide means for securing the severed end of a yarn leading from an inactive carrier before the carrieris, again thrown into operation, which is constructed and arranged to maintain the feeding yarn, tautly in position for engagement by the 5 first active sinker, and to retainthe severed end during. the knitting ofone.or more courses while permitting that portion of the yarn leading from the supporting means to follow freely the forward and back movements of the needles and 10 fabric produced thereon. It isa further object of the invention to provide means for securing the yarn. end for the laying of theyarn by its carrier, which is prefer,

ably located in an easily accessible position on u the front portion of the machine, and is, constructed and arranged to permit the securedend .readily'to follow thegrearward movement of the needles to press. v a H With these and. other objects inview, as may 20 hereinafterappear, a-principal feature of the invention consists in-the provision of a device for securing "or anchoring the severed end of a feeding'yarn for the layingof the yarn by the carrier, which is, yieldable'topermittheanchore'd 25 portion of the yarn to follow freely the forward and back movements of theneedles and fabric produced th, reon during the knitting ofone or mofrecourses. v, v a

The several features of theinvention consist also in the devices combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from, the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrates. preferred embodiment of the invention in a heeling machine of the general type illustrated in the application above referred to, only so much of the machine being 40 shown as is believed necessary to illustrate the connection of thepresent invention therewith.

Fig. 1 is a detail plan view showingthe starting position of the carriers with relation to the knitting needles having a combination foot and'x45 leg stocking blank topped thereon, and with the yarn Iends held in applicant's spring clamps mounted on the usual work table; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, taken with the foot portion of the fabric withdrawn from the rear side of the 80 needles and folded forwardly over the tops thereof and after a number of heel flap courses have been knitted; Fig. 3 is a view in right side elevation partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but with I;

the needles moved rearwardly to press position; and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of applicants spring clamp;

Referring specifically to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention in a heeling machine, the parts shown include the front rail I0 supporting the sinker bed i2 and cover plate l4 and the usual work supporting table l6. The spring beard needles II are arranged in two banks indicated generally at 20 and 22 in Figs. 1 and 2, being rigidly supported to move as a unit on a single needle support 24 to which are imparted the usual vertical and forward and back movements of the needle motion. The machine is also provided with knockovers 26 and individually movable yarn measuring sinkers 2I. Yarn carriers which may be of ordinary construction, and are arranged to feed yarn respectively to the needle banks 20 and 22 simultaneously and in opposite directions, are designated at 28 and 30. There is also shown in the drawings, theusual take-up tensioning straps 32 provided with hooks 34 which are arranged to be hooked into the fabric to tension the' fabric away from the needles.

In accordance with the present invention, there r are provided two spring-seated clamping devices for securing the yarn ends leading from the carriers 28 and 30. Applicants clamping device as best shown in Fig. 5, comprises a vertically extending plate or base support 38 which is rigidly secured by a screw 40 to the front side of the work table l6, and a clamping member 42 movably supported thereon. The clamping member 42 takes the form of a flat strip having a downwardly extending tongue 44 which is arranged to fit within a vertical slot 46 formed in the support 38, and is pivotally supported thereih by means of a pin 48. An anchor or cleat 50 for clamping the thread is secured by means of a screw 52 to the top side of the clamping member 42. The movement of the clamping member 42 forwardly about its pivot is limited by the engagement of a recessed surface 54 in the member 42 with recessed surfaces 56 formed in the forked upper portion of the base 28. A leaf spring 60 secured to the rear side of the base 38 is arranged to bear against the upper portion of the clamping member 42, and tends to main-- tain the clamp yieldingly in its limiting forward position.

The operation of applicant's clamping device for securing the severed yarn ends for the laying of the yarn by the carriers 28 and 30 of a heeling machine, may be described as follows:

Assuming that a combination stocking blank comprising a leg portion 62 and foot portion 64 has been topped onto the needle sections 20 and 22 in position for the knitting of the heel flaps, the yarns 66 and 68 leading respectively from the carriers 2. and 20, are laid tightly around the end needles of the two sections, and are secured to the anchors 50 of the clamping devices mounted on the work table l6 as shown in Fig. 1. The machine is now started and the carriers 28 and 30 move outwardly to knit a first or connecting course of heel fabric, the operation of the machine being continued while the needles move rearwardly to press and downwardly to their knockover position. The rearward movement of the needles to press causes the clamping member 44 to be moved rearwardly about its pivot 48 against the relatively light pressure of the spring 60, so that no additional strain is placed on the first active needle which is thus permitted to move in a normal manner without the necessity of first severing the anchored portion of the feeding yarn. The foot portion 64 of the blank is now folded forwardly over the needles, and the operation of knitting the heel fiap"s is continued as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Inasmuch as the yarn ends are still secured to the respective clamps, the forward and back movement of the clamps 42 with the needle motion asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, will be continued until a suflicient. amount of fabric has been knitted to slack ofl the anchored portions of the feeding yarn. With this mode of operation of the clamping devices, it will readily be seen that the usual delay due to the necessity of stopping the machine and severing the anchored yarn ends prior to the rearward movement of the needles topress, is eliminated. This operation may now be performed by the operator at his leisure during the knitting of subsequent courses,

in the manner indicated by the scissors ill in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

' What is claimed is:

A clamping device adapted for securing the loose end of a feeding yarn for laying the yarn by the carrier'to the yarn measuring sinkers of a flat knitting machine comprising, a clamp sup port having a forked portion; a yarn clamping member having a tongue arranged to fit in the forked portion of said member and mounted for swinging movement therein, said forked portion of the support and said clamping member having means engageable for limiting the swinging movement of the clamping member in one direction, and springs means between said support and member acting on the latter against the pull of the clamped yarn to maintain the member yieldingly in said limiting position.

ARTHUR RINEHART. 

